Contents

History

Terry and Dana began dating when they both attended Hamilton Hill High School. Her father disapproved of the relationship, because of Terry's checkered background, but Terry worked hard to prove his worth.

Their relationship was a close one; when he had her drop him off at Wayne Manor, she expressed concern about leaving him alone in the middle of nowhere, and he responded with the same tenderness.

When Terry started being Batman, it put a strain on their relationship, with his frequent absences, and often last-minute cancellation of their plans. He often covered these absences with his new "job" for Bruce Wayne and the new family responsibilities caused by his father's death. Later, their mutual friend Maxine Gibson, who learned Terry's secret identity, also helped cover for him.[2]

As time went on, Dana devised her own explanation for Terry's attachment to Wayne: that he had become a father figure to replace the one Terry had lost. This made her feel sympathetic (and she was more right than either she or Terry knew, as Bruce Wayne would later be proven to be Terry's biological father).

Still, on at least one occasion Dana blew up at Terry for being stood up once too often. Unaware that she was being stalked by Ratboy, an abandoned child who had grown up in the sewers, she mistook a mash note from him as coming from Terry and offered to meet with him. She was abducted by Ratboy and kept in his underground lair, but she showed considerable bravery, first trying to escape through the sewers by crawling on all fours, and then improvising a trap for Ratboy that ended up torching his lair, and probably him along with it. Severely traumatized, Dana was approached by Terry afterwards, very contrite, and surprised him by hugging him closely.[3]

When the Joker returned to haunt Gotham, Dana was caught in the crossfire. After learning the identity of the new Batman, the Joker sent his Jokerz after Terry, and Dana was subdued by Ghoul in the fight. She managed to free herself quite easily, by stomping on his foot, but Ghoul proved more than a match than she originally perceived. She was thrown off a ledge, and ended up in Gotham General with severe injuries.[4]

Max once suggested to Terry that Dana could be trusted with his secret, and should be if he wanted to keep their relationship alive. Terry refused flatly, citing concern for her safety. Eventually, however, when Terry again blew off one of their dates, Dana accepted it because she believed that, with the death of his own father, Terry now saw Bruce as a father figure, which Terry admitted wasn't so far off.[5]

The two continued dating for fifteen years after they left high school, and at some point she learned of his identity as Batman but accepted it. He constantly warned her that she would be in danger if anyone ever discovered his secret, but, being committed to him, she refused to leave him.[1]

When Terry discovered his true lineage, he became disillusioned with his identity and imagined himself breaking up with Dana at last, seeing himself as "cursed". But on the advice of Amanda Waller, he came to grips with his past and took her advice to "take care of the people who love you". After this conversation, he planned to propose marriage to Dana, while still continuing his life as Batman.

Background information

In Paul Dini's screenplay of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, a line is included that did not make it to the final product. In the scene where Terry is explaining to Bruce why he wants to go on being Batman, Terry says that Dana's father's disapproval is a constant reminder that he'll never completely erase his criminal past.